The environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is a significant issue, raising interest in bioremediation. However, the physio-chemical characteristics of PAHs and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils can drastically influence in the degradation. Moreover, PAHs are toxic and carcinogenic for humans and their rapid degradation is of great importance. The process of degradation of pollutants can be enhanced by manipulating abiotic factors. The effect of soil pH on degradation of PAHs with a view to manipulating soil pH to enhance the bioremediation of PAH’s was studied. The degradation rate of key model PAHs (Phenanthrene, Anthracene, Fluoranthene, and Pyrene) was monitored in J Arthur Brower’s topsoil modified to a range of pH between pH 4.0 and pH 9.0 at half pH intervals. Photo-catalytic oxidation of PAHs in the presence of a catalyst (TiO2) under UV light at two different wavelengths was studied. The degradation of PAHs during photo-catalytic oxidation was carried out at varying soil pH, whilst the degradation rate of each individual PAH was monitored using HPLC. It was observed that pH 6.5 was most suitable for the photo-degradation of all the PAHs, whilst in general acidic soil had greater photo-degradation rates than alkaline soil pH. Photo-degradation of PAHs at 375 nm exhibited greater degradation rates compared to 254 nm. Phenanthrene at both the wavelengths had greater degradation rate and pyrene has lower degradation rate of the four PAHs. Pure microbial cultures were isolated from road-side soil by shaken enrichment culture and characterized for their ability to grow on PAHs. Bacterial PAH degraders, isolated via enrichment were identified biochemically and by molecular techniques using PCR amplification and sequencing of 16S rDNA. Sequences were analyzed using BLAST (NCBI) and their percentage identity to known bacterial rDNA sequences in the GeneBank database (NCBI) was compared. The 6 bacterial strains were identified as Pseudomonas putida, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Microbacterium sp., Alpha proteobacterium, Brevundimonas sp., Bradyrhizobium sp. Similarly, fungal PAH degraders were identified microscopically and with molecular techniques using PCR amplification and sequencing of 18S rDNA and identified as Aspergillus niger and Penicillium freii. Biodegradation of four PAHs with two and four aromatic rings were studied in soil with inoculation of the six identified bacteria and two identified fungi over a range of pH. It was observed that pH 7.5 was most suitable for the degradation of all the PAHs maintained in the dark. A degradation of 50% was observed in soil pH 7.5 within first three days which was a seventh of the time taken at pH 5.0 and pH 6.5 (21 days). Greater fungal populations were found at acidic soil pH and alkaline soil pH, in comparison with neutral pH 7.0. Pencillium sp. was found to be more prevalent at acidic pH whilst Aspergillus sp. was found to be more prevalent at pH 7.5-8.0. Bacterial populations were greater at pH 7.5 which was highly correlated with soil ATP levels. It was therefore evident that the greatest rates of degradation were associated with the greatest bacterial population. Soil enzyme activities in general were also greatest at pH 7.5. The converse effect of pH was found with fastest rate of photo-catalytic degradation at the optimal conditions were observed at acidic condition in soil pH 6.5 whilst, the results obtained during biodegradation at the optimal conditions exhibits fastest rate of degradation at alkaline conditions particularly at pH 7.5. Thus, manipulation of soil pH to 7.5 has significant potential to dramatically increase the degradation rate of PAHs.

Abstract This study investigated the distributions of polyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediment cores collected from continental shelf of Gaoping submarine canyon. The sediment cores were analyzed for PAHs to reconstruct historical contamination record of these compounds and to find out the possible sources, trends and fluxes. The average concentrations of £U50 and £U16 PAHs ranged from 568 to 816 ng/g and from 169 to 256 ng/g, respectively. Except for sediment cores L10 and L26, the high molecular weight PAHs (4-6 ring PAHs) were found dominant in 1960s-2006, while the low molecular weight PAHs (2-3 ring PAHs) were found dominant before 1960s. Results from diagnostic ratios and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) both suggested that sources of PAHs in the cores of southern continental shelf were primarily from petrogenic, while those in the cores of northern continental shelf were from pyrogenic and petroleum combustion. There is a significant increasing of total PAH concentrations between 1930-1950, suggesting that might be an evident during the World War II. Due to increase of importing fossil fuel and the growth of heavy industrials in Gaoping area, the total concentrations of PAHs showed an increasing trend again since 1950s in the core from continental shelf of Gaoping submarine canyon. In addition, during 1990-2006, the total concentrations of PAHs showed a decreasing trend might result from the environmental protection laws. It is noteworthy that in L28 and L29 sediment cores, the increase of total PAH concentrations recorded during 1990-2006 may be due to the dumping of the sludge from dredged Kaohsiung harbor sediments. Comparing with the sediment quality guidelines (SQG), the PAH concentrations in the northern continental shelf sediment samples were higher than the Threshold Effect Level (TEL) value, suggesting there might be an adverse biological effects caused by PAHs. Keywords¡GPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Kaohsiung harbor, Sediment quality guidelines (SQG)

Thesis (M.Sc. (Chemistry)) --University of Limpopo, 2017 / The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment is of major concern since these compounds are highly persistent, toxic and wide spread pollutants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of PAHs in water and sediment samples collected from Blood and Mokolo Rivers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was used for the extraction of PAHs from water, whereas PAHs in sediments were extracted using optimised microwaveassisted extraction (MAE). Furthermore, ultrasonication and a combination of ultrasonication and mechanical agitation were used for the extraction of PAHs from sediments samples. The quantification of sixteen (16) PAHs in water and sediment was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode and by GC-flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). Concentrations of PAHs in sediments were higher than in water. The highest concentrations of PAHs were obtained in Mokolo River sediments, with the concentration ranging between 0.044 and 51.9 mg/kg. The levels of PAHs recorded in Blood River sediments were lower than those obtained in Mokolo River with concentrations ranging between 0.014 and 3.10 mg/kg. In water samples, higher levels of PAHs were observed in Mokolo River (between 0.0219 and 1.53 µg/L) while lower concentrations were recorded in Blood River (between 0.0121 and 0.433 µg/L). In water and sediment samples from both Rivers, higher molecular weight (HMW) PAH compounds (4-6 rings) were found at greater concentration levels than lower molecular weight (LMW) PAHs (2-3 rings), and this can be attributed to pyrogenic activities in the study areas. The efficiencies and accuracy of the methods for the extraction of PAHs were determined by assessing the recoveries of samples spiked with known amount of standards (for water samples), while a certified reference material (CRM) was used for sediments. Percentage recoveries ranged from 67.6 to 115% for LLE and 83.8 to 125% for MAE for both sample types. Diagnostic ratio was used for the source identification of PAHs in sediment samples. Several PAHs ratios indicated that both pyrogenic and petrogenic could be the sources of these compounds in both rivers. Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) and benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPE) were used to quantitatively estimate the PAHs potential human health risk. The assessment of ecotoxicological risk indicated that the v sediment samples collected from Mokolo River are at high toxicity risk while sediments from Blood River are at low sediment toxicity risk. / Water Research Commission (WRC), National Research Foundation (NRF) and Sasol Inzalo Foundation

This study investigated the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the particulate and dissolved phase, as well as concentrations of PAHs in the sediment in Kaohsiung Harbor lagoon. Sources of PAHs in the water column were determined by isomer ratios, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal components analysis (PCA). The net and annual fluxes of PAHs were calculated after a lagoon-wide water sampling campaign and compared with those found in a previous study (Fang, 2007) in which data from only one water sampling station was used. ¡@¡@In rain season, total PAH concentrations ranged from 21.6 to 36.2 ng/L for water samples, with dissolved and particulate phase concentrations ranged from 15.5 to 27.2 ng/L and from 3.4 to 8.6 ng/L, respectively. In dry season, total PAH concentrations ranged from 13.2 to 31.5 ng/L for water samples, with dissolved and particulate phase concentrations ranged from 8.0 to 21.1 ng/L and from 5.3 to 10.5 ng/L, respectively. Total PAH concentrations were found higher in rain season than in dry season. The highest total PAH concentration in dry season was observed in Chianjen River estuary. Relatively high PAH concentrations were also observed in these southern stations of Kaohsiung Harbor because of their location near Dalin industrial park. Total PAH concentrations ranged from 81.7 to 2279 ng/g for sediment samples, with average of 895 ng/g. The correlations between PAH concentrations and organic carbons, water temperature, salinity and suspended particles were also examined in this study. PAH concentration in dissolved phase was negatively correlated with water temperature (p<0.05). PAH concentration in sediment was positively correlated with organic carbons (p<0.05), and negatively correlated with median diameter (p<0.01). The logKoc¡ÐlogKow relationship in rain and dry season was compared with literature. It was found that the logKoc values were higher than those reported in literature, suggesting that soot particles might play an important role in the transport and distribution of PAHs in the study area. In rain season, PAHs in dissolved phase were mainly from pyrogenic origins; while mainly from petrogenic origins in particulate phase. In contrast, in dry season, PAHs in dissolved phase were mainly from petrogenic origins; while mainly from pyrogenic origins in particulate phase. In addition, it was found, relatively, that petrogenic pollution was introduced maily from the northern area of the lagoon. In rain season, total PCB concentrations ranged from 1.1 to 2.7 ng/L for water samples, with dissolved and particulate phase concentrations ranged from 0.42 to 2.1 ng/L and from 0.24 to 1.4 ng/L, respectively. In dry season, total PCB concentrations ranged from 0.54 to 1.3 ng/L for water samples, with dissolved and particulate phase concentrations ranged from 0.20 to 0.74 ng/L and from 0.32 to 0.76 ng/L, respectively. The direction of net fluxes of PAHs in this study are from water to air (net volatilization) in summer. In winter, however, the absorptive PAH fluxes obtained for four to six-ring PAH, such as fluoranthrene, chrysene + triphenylene and benzo[a]anthracene, indicating that PAHs were absorbed into surface waters. According to our results, it was suggested that the results from previous study (Fang, 2007) might underestimate the net fluxes of Pyrene and total fluxes in dry season. The annual fluxes of PAHs estimated in this study were 212 mg/m2 /year and 5.7 kg of PAHs were emitted annually from the harbor lagoon surface waters to the ambient atmosphere.

The distribution of butyltin compounds (BTs) in the sediments and seawater, at the river outfalls, fishing ports, shipyards, and industrial zone docks of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan were investigated. Twenty sediment and seawater samples were collected from various locations in the Harbor in 2006, and analyzed for monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), and tributyltin (TBT). Results showed that the concentration of total BTs varied from 1.5 to 151 ng/g in sediment samples, with TBT being the major component of the sediment samples. This suggests that sediments could be the most possible sink of TBT brought by the sorption mechanism. The concentrations of BTs ranged from 9.7 to 270 ng/L in seawater samples, whereas DBT and MBT, the degradation byproducts of TBT, were mainly the most abundant BT compounds of the seawater samples. This indicates that the abiotic or biotic degradation potential of TBT was significant. Spatially, the highest concentrations of BTs were observed in both water and sediment samples collected from the shipyard and fishing port areas. This indicates that the shipping related activities (e.g., navigation, ship repair, and ship building), would contribute most of BTs in the environment. Results show that the concentrations of degradation products (DBT and MBT) were related closely to temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), and chlorophyll-a of the seawater. This implies that seasonal changes of the water parameters controlled the degradation of TBT in seawater. The observed levels of BT compounds in both seawater and sediments were much higher than those required to induce toxic effects on marine organisms suggesting that appropriate TBT control strategies should be taken in Kaohsiung Harbor. Sediment samples were collected from the river outfalls, fishing ports, shipyards, and industrial zone docks of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan to evaluate the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments. Collected sediment samples from 12 locations were analyzed for 17 different PAHs, organic content, and grain size. The results show that the total PAH concentrations varied from 472 to 16,201 ng/g dry wt, with a mean concentration of 5,764 ng/g dry wt The highest PAH concentrations were from the industrial zone docks situated in south Kaohsiung Harbor, ranging from 8,788 to 16,201 ng/g dry wt Among those sediment samples, the 5-, 6-ring PAHs were predominant PAH congeners in sediments, ranging from 42 to 71%. However, the dominant PAH congeners were 2-, 3-ring PAHs (37 to 42%) collected from steel industrial zone docks. This indicates that the sources for the PAH contamination at steel industrial zone docks were different from the other zones in Kaohsiung Harbor. According to the diagnostic ratios, the possible source of PAHs in the industrial zone dock could be coal combustion while in the other zones it could be petroleum combustion. The total PAH levels were expressed as the total toxic equivalent (TEQcarc). The total TEQcarc varied from 55 to 1,964 ng TEQ/g dry wt. Higher total TEQcarc values were found at industrial zone docks (from 1,404 to 1,964 ng TEQ/g dry wt). As compared with the US Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), the observed levels of PAHs at industrial zone docks exceeded the effects range low (ERL), and could thus cause acute biological damage. However, the lower levels of PAHs at the other zones would not exert adverse biological effects. Results would be helpful in developing strategies for sediment remediation in Kaohsiung Harbor.

In this study our purposes were to investigate the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the dissolved and particulate phase of PAHs in Er-Jen River. In addition, the potential sources of PAHs in Er-Jen River were investigated not only by finger printing, but also principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). ¡@¡@Concentrations of dissolved and particulate PAHs ranged from 13.8 to 516 ng/L and from 4.05 to 55.9 ng/L, respectively. In March (dry season), concentrations of dissolved and particulate PAHs ranged from 38.3 to 186 ng/L and from 4.05 to 25.9 ng/L, respectively. In addition, concentrations of dissolved and particulate PAHs ranged from 32.3 to 82.8 ng/L and from 14.8 to 85.3 ng/L, respectively in September (wet season). The highest total PAH concentration in this area was found in Station Er-3 which is located on a tributary of Er-Jen River. Total PAH concentrations in wet season were higher than those found in dry season for all stations in Er-Jen River, except for station Er-3, which suggesting that different geography might be the reason. ¡@¡@Results from correlation analysis indicated that distributions of PAH concentrations for particulate phase in Er-Jen River correlated well with flow rate, suspended solid concentrations and salinity. Total PAH concentration of station Er-2, which was located at the downstream Er-Jen River, was highly correlated with salinity; while total PAH concentrations in other stations were mainly affected by flow rate, suspended solid concentrations and some potential sources of pollution. Results from PCA, HCA and finger printing all indicated the origins of PAHs were complex sources in the study area, including pyrogenic, petrogenic and diagenetic/biogenic origins. The origins of PAHs in dissolved phase were mainly from both pyrogenic and petrogenic sources; while those in particulate phase were mainly from pyrogenic sources. In addition, the pyrogenic origins in both dissolved and particulate phase were mostly from liquid fuel combustion. In wet season, howerer, diagenetic/biogenic origins were also found in particulate phase at the sampling sites of Er-Jen River. ¡@¡@The annual total PAH fluxes of Er-Jen River were estimated to be 23.1 kg For dissolved phase, the average daily fluxes in dry and wet season were 5.9 g/day and 65.8 g/day, respectively, with an annual mean fluxe of 11.3 kg/year. For particulate phase, the mean daily fluxes in dry and wet season were 0.8 g/day and 76.2 g/day, respectively, with an annual mean flux of 11.8 kg/year. In general, the total PAH fluxes in wet season were higher than dry season. The total annual PAH fluxes in Er-Jen River were generally less than those reported worldwide, and comparable to those in San Francisco River in USA, but higher than those in Le Havre River in France.

Water, suspended particle and sediment samples from Kao-ping estuary were collected and measured for concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during March 2004 and April 2005. In addition, sediments from neighboring coastal area were also analyzed to estimate distribution, transportation and possible sources of PAHs. Total PAH concentrations varied from 33.0 to 910 ng/g dry weight (dw) in coastal sediments, and diagnostic ratios reflect a mixed sources of petrogenic and pyrolytic inputs. Due to the contribution of Kao-ping River, spatial distribution of PAH concentrations at coastal sediments near river mouth varied dramatically. Results of hierachical cluster analysis showed that PAH concentration distribution was influenced by Kao-ping canyon, and biogenic source might be the major PAH source for offshore sediments. Total PAH concentrations in river sediment varied from 63.0 to 720 ng/g dw. Higher concentration was measured between the Water Main pipe and Shuang-yuan Bridge, and possible sources were from both petrogenic and pyrolytic sources. Sediment of Dung-gang harbour had highest concentration, 28,000ng/g dw, in this study, which was contributed from petrogenic sources due to its intensive boating activities. Except fluorene and phenanthrene in harbour sediments, individual PAH concentrations of other sediments are lower or near the Effect Range Low value, concentrations might lead to possible adverse effects upon organism. Total PAH concentrations varied from 5.0 to 82.0 ng/L in suspended particulate phase and from 5.5ng/L to 46.0ng/L in dissolved phase, respectively. Most of high molecular weight PAH concentrations (>5-ring PAHs) in dissolved phase were below method detection limits. The partition coefficients¡]Koc¡^values of PAHs were 1 to 2 orders higher than predicted values. It might be attributed to soot particles which have extremely high sorption capacities. Correlation coefficients between total PAH concentrations in sediments versus total organic carbon¡]TOC¡^ and fine particle content¡]<63£gm%¡^were significant ¡]R=0.575, 0.800, 0.851 and 0.657, P<0.01¡^. In addition, PAHs in suspended particulate phase and dissolved phase were also significantly correlated to particulate organic carbon¡]POC¡^ and dissolved organic carbon¡]DOC¡^, respectively. The distribution of calculated PAH concentrations from organic carbon was higher in surface water than bottom water. Unlike salinity, there was no decreasing or increasing trend of these concentrations among river samples. It is possible that contamination was not come from upstream, but from estuary area where plume was lifted and diffused upstream by neat seawater. The flux in Wan-da Bridge was higher than downstream estuary area that might be due to PAH concentrations reduction by sedimentation or degradation.

Target shooting in the United States has become an increasingly popular sport in the last century. In addition to the large quantity of lead pellets littering range grounds and surrounding land, considerable amounts of clay target fragments cover shooting range areas as well as adjoining habitats. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) within the target, as well as lead pellets from shotguns pose multiple threats to a variety of wildlife. To determine the effects of clay target and lead pellet ingestion on wildlife, I conducted controlled experiments on Coturnix quail exposed to clay targets in the lab, and collected wild birds and mammals exposed to lead pellets at a shooting range. The first Coturnix study determined whether quail voluntarily consumed target fragments or limestone fragments. In both fall (F=29.2, P<0.01) and spring (F=6.45, P=0.02) experiments, I found that quail consistently selected limestone fragments, but almost completely rejected clay target fragments. In the second study, quail were force-fed varying amounts of target dust on a weekly basis to simulate sporadic exposure to clay target dust. In both summer (F=1.63, P=0.23) and winter (F=0.34, P=0.8) trials, male quail did not have significant weight loss. Female quail had insignificant weight losses in summer trials (F=1.63, P=0.23) but experienced weight gains in winter trials (F=3.53, P=0.04). In the third and final Coturnix study, varying amounts of target dust were incorporated into daily feed rations to simulate frequent exposure to clay target dust. Male quail experienced weight loss in both summer (F=16.13, P<0.01) and winter (F=8.47, P<0.01) trials. Female quail also suffered weight loss in both summer (F=15.62, P<0.01) and winter (F=17.50, P<0.01) trials. Weight loss likely resulted from inadequate nutrition as opposed to target poisoning. However, because there were no biochemical analyses performed to test for PAH presence, no definite conclusions can be made. The second study focused on lead contamination in Passeriformes, perching birds, and small mammals. Seventeen of 20 birds (85%) (Passerine spp) captured at the shooting range had elevated lead levels (F=5.21, P<0.028), when compared to birds (n=20) at the control site. Nine of 26 (35%) white-footed mice (Peromyscous leucopus), trapped at the shooting range had elevated liver (F=9.78, P=0.0029) and kidney (F=22.49, P<0.01) lead levels. These results indicate that Passerine species as well as Peromyscous species around shooting ranges inadvertently consume lead, either as lead pellets, mistaking them for grit or dietary items, or through environmental sources such as water, soil, and vegetation. / Master of Science

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of ubiquitous environmental contaminants with two or more aromatic rings and originating from different emission sources. They are extremely toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic to human, animals and plants. Consequently, the need to expand economical and practical remediation technologies for PAH contaminated sites is evident. In this study, the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on degradation of PAH was studied. The degradation was studied on the key model PAH (phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene) in J. Arthur Bower’s top soil. The hypothesis for this study was that roadside soil would contain PAH degrading bacteria; pH would influence the microbial degradation of PAH, chemical oxidation of PAH would be as efficient as microbial breakdown of PAH and mobilising agents, would move PAH throughout soil, potentially making the PAH more available for biodegradation. The greatest degradations were found for the lowest molecular weight PAH, phenanthrene and anthracene; whilst lowest degradation was observed for higher molecular weight PAH, fluoranthene and pyrene. Twelve bacteria genera were isolated and identified by biochemical and molecular techniques from the roadside soil with the four PAHs as the sole carbon source. However, potentially new PAH biodegrader bacteria species and a novel were found in this study, which was not reported in the literature. The effect of pH between 5.0 and 8.0 at half pH intervals on biodegradation of the four PAHs and on bacterial populations in the soil over 32 days was monitored. The greatest population of bacteria and greatest biodegradation for the four PAHs was found at pH of 7.5. It is likely that the general increase in population was also linked with greater metabolic activities of bacteria at basic pHs which assists pollutant biodegradation. Although there is high pollutant mobility at low pHs, the biodegradation was limited due to reduced microbial activity. High pHs resulted in greater PAH biodegradation suggesting that pH manipulation by liming may be an effective way of stimulating biodegradation of PAH. The effect of potassium permanganate on oxidation of the four PAHs in the soil was examined. Studies in this thesis, indicated that potassium permanganate had a significant (p<0.05) effect on oxidation of the four PAHs at pH 7.5 over 35 days. However in comparison to biodegradation, chemical oxidation has significantly (p<0.05) less effect. Finally, the effect of Tween 20 only on translocation and biodegradation of the four PAHs at pH 7.5 over 35 days was examined. Studies indicated that Tween 20 had significantly (p<0.05) enhanced translocation of the four PAHs in the sterile soil. Moreover, the greatest biodegradation was found in the soil inoculated with only the roadside soil microorganisms but without Tween 20. This suggested that Tween 20 had a significant (p<0.05) inhibitory effect on the roadside soil microorganisms and therefore less microorganism were grown in the soil containing Tween 20. This indicated that Tween 20 was translocated PAH, but inhibited breakdown. This study indicated microbial biodegradation was the most effective technique for removing of the PAH from contaminated soil, which was cost effective and easier to perform in comparison to the other two techniques. Microbial biodegradation could be improved by adjusting pH through liming if soil was acid.

O crescente mercado dos produtos naturais, fomentado pelo interesse dos consumidores por alimentos que auxiliem a promoção da saúde, tem pressionado a indústria alimentícia na oferta por novos alimentos. Dentre estes alimentos, encontram-se os óleos vegetais extraídos a frio, reconhecidos por preservarem compostos bioativos característicos e, alguns deles, serem fontes de ácidos graxos (AG) essenciais. A categoria dos óleos e gorduras apresenta, dentre outros alimentos, uma importante fonte de exposição aos hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPAs), um grupo de contaminantes químicos orgânicos, alguns com ação carcinogênica. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os óleos vegetais extraídos a frio quanto aos parâmetros de identidade, de qualidade e à ocorrência de HPAs. Foram avaliadas 40 amostras, dez de cada tipo (coco, cártamo, prímula e linhaça), de diferentes marcas, adquiridas no comércio da cidade de São Paulo. Foram realizados os ensaios de perfil de AG, índice de acidez, índice de peróxido, p-anisidina, valor total de oxidação (totox) e HPAs (benzo(a)antraceno, criseno, benzo(b)fluoranteno e benzo(a)pireno). Quanto aos AG, catorze óleos (35 por cento ) não apresentaram perfis de ácidos graxos característicos que os declarados em seus rótulos, incluindo um de coco, quatro de cártamo e nove de prímula. Os valores para acidez estavam inadequados em relação a legislação para três óleos de linhaça (7,5 por cento ). Para o peróxido, quatro óleos (10 por cento ) estavam acima do limite da legislação, sendo dois de linhaça e dois de prímula. Os valores de p-anisidina variaram de &lt;LQ a 12,98, sendo o menor valor encontrado nas amostras de coco e o maior em uma de prímula, que apresentava um odor alterado. No ensaio de totox, 37,5% das amostras apresentaram valores acima da recomendação da literatura, especialmente os óleos de cártamo e prímula. Já para os HPAs, pelo menos um dos hidrocarbonetos analisados foi detectado em 97,5% das amostras avaliadas; três amostras de prímula (7,5%) apresentaram níveis acima do permitido pela Comunidade Européia para BaP e, para a soma dos 4 HPAs, oito óleos (20%) estavam em desacordo: dois de cártamo, quatro de prímula e dois de linhaça. Este trabalho expõe os problemas relacionados aos parâmetros de identidade, qualidade e contaminação dos óleos vegetais comercializados como extraídos a frio e reforçam a importância de um contínuo monitoramento destes produtos. / The natural product market growth, stimulated by the interest of consumers in foods that support health promotion, has encouraged the food industry to supply new kinds of foods. Among these are the cold-pressed vegetable oils, recognized by preserving characteristic bioactive compounds and, some of them, are sources of essential fatty acids (FA). The category of oils and fats owns, within others foods, an important source of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of organic chemical contaminants, some of them with carcinogenic activity. This study aimed at evaluating cold-pressed vegetable oils in relation to the PAHs occurrence, as well as the quality and identity parameters. Forty samples being ten of each type (coconut oil, safflower oil, evening primrose oil and flaxseed oil) of distinct brands, which were acquired in different markets from São Paulo, were evaluated. Fatty acids profile, acid value, peroxide value, p-anisidine value, total oxidation value (totox) and PAHs (benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene) were analyzed. As for FA, fourteen oils (35 per cent ) showed different fatty acids profiles according to the ones on their labels, including one of coconut oil, four of safflower oils and nine of evening primrose oils. The acid values were unsuitable towards the legislation to three flaxseed oils (7.5 per cent ). As for peroxide values, four of the oils (10 per cent ) were above the legislation limit, including two of flaxseed oils and two of evening primrose ones. The p-anisidine values ranged from &lt;LOQ to 12.98, being the smallest value found in the coconut oils samples and the biggest ones in an evening primrose oil, which featured an altered odor. In the totox analysis, 37,5% of the samples presented values above the normal pattern according to literature, mailly the safflower and theevening primrose oils. Regarding the PAHs, at least one of the analyzed hydrocarbons was detected in 97,5% of the samples; three of the primrose samples (7,5%) had levels above those allowed by the European Community for BaP. According to the sum of 4 PAHs, eight oils (20%) were in disagreement: two of safflower oils, four of evening primrose oils and two of flaxseed oils. This study exposes problems related to identity and quality parameters, contamination of vegetable oils marketed as cold-pressed. It also aims at reinforcing the importance of a continuous monitoring os these products.